Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Dreaming of the BWCA... or am I?

OBN's at it again with another photo prompt, this time looking at dream destinations. Just like everybody, I have so many places I want to go, making this particularly difficult. I would love to see Alaska, ride the Siberian Railway, travel Chile north to south, dine in Cambodia, hike in New Zealand, etc etc etc.

Okay, as I write this, right now in fact, I'm changing the direction of the post. I was going to tell you, whenever I dream of a place to go, I long after the quiet, summer shores of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA). I have been a few times and I absolutely love it. The smell of warm, musty pines, picking blueberries, moose, bear, great fishing, northern lights, no motorized vehicles allowed.

photo by: Brandenburg, J from http://www.wildernessinquiry.org/photo.php?dest=bwcacanoe&groupsize=15&filepath=%2Fimages%2Ftrip_images%2Fgallery%2F&filenum=10

I've dreamed and dreamed of having a small cabin up there, or at least making a yearly trip for the rest of my life. But then I realized, as I was typing the list of places above, there is another dream. One more exciting and adventurous. One that, admittedly, will be difficult to pull off, because of real world commitments. But as long as we are dreaming, maybe I should shoot a little higher, eh?

I've already mentioned it. Chile. For some reason, I've been fascinated with the diversity of landscapes within the country. With national parks like Torres del Paine (pictured below, thanks national geographic), el pacha, Easter Island, Santiago, fishing galore, what is not to desire?
Photograph by Jerry Alexander/Getty Images
So there it is. It has been set. I choose Chile. The BWCA almost had it for a second, but then, like Ohio, or Kansas, or Duke, or whoever else you didn't expect to lose during March Madness, a twist out of nowhere.

I would travel the cities and the parks. Fishing when I can and eating all the street food my bowels would allow.

5 comments:

  1. BWCA is already on my "bucket list"- one of the more realistic goals I have actually, but I've never given Chile much thought. Thanks for enlightening me.

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  2. My wife and I started planning a trip to Chile and Argentina last year, but life got in the way and we opted for a home improvement project instead(be it good or bad). I'm fascinated with everythign about Patagonia, the culture, food, wine and nature. Great choice!

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  3. I see you are being drawn into Easter Island as well? It's the aliens talking!!

    I've always wanted to see the Boundary Waters, but life has not taken me up there yet.

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  4. Chile would be my top pick hands down...stories i've heard, the people, fishing, food/wine, etc...however, there is something about northern MN and the BWCA that is hard to beat...

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  5. Stephen - I'm sure you'll still get there and now you'll have an updated casa to relax in after you return.

    ST: You should get up to the BW.
    It is amazing. Make sure to get a permit early as the good spots go fast!

    Sanders: it sounds like we are seeing eye to eye :)

    THanks for the comments everybody!

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